Mobile communication system and mobile terminal having function of inactivating mobile communication viruses, and method thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a mobile communication system and method for inactivating or curing mobile communication viruses. The mobile communication system for inactivating a virus includes: a database associated with the mobile communication system, for storing at least one virus vaccine program; and a virus monitoring unit associated with the mobile communication system, for checking virus infection of received data, analyzing virus information, choosing one of virus vaccine programs that are stored in the database and inactivating the virus. Virus vaccine programs are timely updated over the air (OTA) whenever a new version of vaccine program is available.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile communication systemand a mobile terminal which are capable of inactivating or curing mobilecommunication viruses and a method thereof.

PRIOR ART OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Generally, a virus vaccine program is downloaded from, e.g., apersonal computer and installed in a mobile terminal to cure a mobilecommunication virus (hereinafter, referred to as simply “virus”) in amobile terminal such as mobile phones or PDAs. Such a method is veryinconvenient in that a user has to download a new version of virusvaccine program by himself/herself whenever the virus vaccine program isupdated.

[0003] Also, since system level components such as a mobile switchingcenter (MSC) can not currently identify or detect whether or not dataexternally transmitted, for example, from a mobile terminal is infectedby viruses, the mobile communication system may be infected by datahaving viruses, and thus mobile terminals communicating therewith aswell as the mobile communication system may be infected by viruses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a mobilecommunication system and method for inactivating or curing mobilecommunication viruses.

[0005] It is another object of the present invention to provide a mobileterminal of inactivating or curing mobile communication viruses.

[0006] It is further object of the present invention to provide a methodof updating a virus vaccine program.

[0007] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a mobile communication system for inactivating a virus,including: a database associated with the mobile communication system,for storing at least one virus vaccine program; and a virus monitoringunit associated with the mobile communication system, for checking virusinfection of received data, analyzing virus information, choosing one ofvirus vaccine programs that are stored in the database and inactivatingthe virus.

[0008] Further, in accordance with another aspect of the presentinvention, there is provided a method for inactivating viruses in amobile communication system, including: (a) at a virus monitoring unit,detecting virus infection of data received from a mobile terminal; (b)at the virus monitoring unit, analyzing virus information when data arevirus infected; and (c) at the virus monitoring unit, choosing suitableone of virus vaccine programs that are stored in a database according tothe virus information to inactivate the virus.

[0009] Further, in accordance with still another aspect of the presentinvention, there is provided a mobile terminal, including: receiving avirus infection notification from a virus monitoring unit and detectinga virus infection of the mobile terminal to inactivate viruses by usinga virus vaccine program stored therein; and transmitting a vaccinerequest message to the virus monitoring unit to receive a virus vaccineprogram suitable for the detected virus to thereby inactivate the virusby using the received virus vaccine program when the virus vaccineprogram previously stored in the mobile terminal can not inactivate thevirus.

[0010] Further, in accordance with still another aspect of the presentinvention, there is provided a method for inactivating viruses in amobile communication system, including: (a) at a mobile terminal,detecting a virus infection of data before transmitting data andinactivating the virus using a vaccine program stored in the mobileterminal when the virus is detected; (b) at the mobile terminal, sendinga vaccine request message to a virus monitoring unit when the vaccineprogram stored in the mobile terminal cannot inactivate the virus; and(c) at the mobile terminal, receiving a new vaccine program which istransmitted from the virus monitoring unit in response to the vaccinerequest message.

[0011] Further, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention,there is provided a method for updating a virus vaccine program in amobile communication system, including: (a) at a mobile terminal,receiving a vaccine information request message from a virus monitoringunit; (b) at the mobile terminal, sending a vaccine information responsemessage including vaccine program information and capability informationof the mobile terminal to a virus monitoring unit in response to thevaccine information request message; and (c) at the mobile terminal,receiving a vaccine program chosen according to the vaccine programinformation and the capability information of the mobile terminal.

[0012] Further, in accordance with another aspect of the presentinvention, there is provided a method for updating a virus vaccineprogram in a mobile communication system, including: (a) at a virusmonitoring unit, sending a vaccine information request message to amobile terminal; (b) at the virus monitoring unit, receiving a vaccineinformation response message including vaccine program information andcapability information of the mobile terminal; and (c) at the virusmonitoring unit, sending a vaccine program chosen according to thevaccine program information and the capability information of the mobileterminal to the mobile terminal.

[0013] Further, in accordance with still another aspect of the presentinvention, there is provided a method for updating a virus vaccineprogram in a mobile communication system, including: (a) at a mobileterminal, sending a vaccine update request message including vaccineprogram information and capability information of the mobile terminal toa virus monitoring unit; and (b) at the mobile terminal, receiving avaccine program chosen according to the vaccine program information andthe capability information of the mobile terminal from the virusmonitoring unit.

[0014] Further, in accordance with still another aspect of the presentinvention, there is provided a method for updating a virus vaccineprogram in a mobile communication system, including: (a) at a virusmonitoring unit, receiving a vaccine update request message includingvaccine program information and capability information of the mobileterminal from the mobile terminal; and (b) at the virus monitoring unit,sending a vaccine program chosen according to the vaccine programinformation and the capability information of the mobile terminal to themobile terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The above and other objects and features of the instant inventionwill become apparent from the following description of preferredembodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

[0016]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a mobile communication systemfor inactivating or curing mobile communication viruses in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017]FIGS. 2 and 3 are flow charts showing procedures of inactivatingor curing viruses in the mobile communication system in accordance withthe present invention;

[0018]FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a network-initiated update methodfor updating a virus vaccine program in accordance with the presentinvention; and

[0019]FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a user-initiated update method forupdating a virus vaccine program in accordance with the presentinvention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0020]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a mobile communication systemfor inactivating or curing mobile communication viruses (hereinafter,referred to as simply “virus”) in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0021] The mobile communication system of FIG. 1 includes at least onemobile terminal 111 to 114, at least one base station (BS) 121 to 122and a mobile switching center (MSC) 130.

[0022] The mobile terminal 111 to 114 respectively stores a virusvaccine program for curing or inactivating viruses in the mobileterminal and checks whether it is infected by viruses preferably beforetransmitting data.

[0023] The BSs 121 to 122 and/or the MSC 130 is functionally associatedwith a database (DB) 131 and a virus monitoring unit (VMU) 132. However,the system-level components with which the DB 131 and the VMU 132 areassociated are not limited to the BS and the MSC. For example, the VMU132 can be configured to be associated to a router which is connected tothe Internet.

[0024] The DB 131 stores various vaccine programs and is updated andmanaged by a system operator.

[0025] The VMU 132 substantially controls a function of detectingviruses and inactivating or curing viruses and a function of updating avirus vaccine program.

[0026] Operation of the mobile communication system of FIG. 1 isexplained below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0027] Data are transmitted from at least one of mobile terminals 111 to114 to the corresponding base stations 121 and 122 at step S201.

[0028] Even though it is described that data is transmitted between twomobile terminals, data can be transmitted through the wireless Internet,and a kind of a data transmitting device is not limited to the mobileterminal in accordance with the present invention.

[0029] Then, it is determined whether or not a virus is found ordetected in the data at step S202. If a virus is detected in the data,information (e.g., identity) of the virus is analyzed at step S203. Avirus vaccine program suitable for an identified virus is read from theDB 131 at step S204. The virus in data inactivated or cured by using theread virus vaccine program at step S205. Then, the cured data istransmitted to a destination mobile terminal, and the virus monitoringunit 132 notifies the mobile stations 111 to 114 of virus infection atstep S206. The mobile terminals which receive the notification performoperation of inactivating or curing the virus therein at step S207.

[0030] The mobile terminal which receives the virus infectionnotification performs operation of detecting viruses. If it isdetermined as infected, the mobile station determines whether it can beinactivated or cured by the vaccine program stored therein at step S301.

[0031] If the virus can not be inactivated or cured by the vaccineprogram stored in the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal send avaccine request message to the VMU 132 through the base station at stepS302. At step S303, the VMU 132 chooses a suitable virus vaccine programfrom the DB 131 and transmits to the mobile terminal or updates thevirus vaccine program over the air when the virus vaccine program is anold version. At step S304, the mobile terminal inactivates or cures thevirus using the downloaded vaccine program.

[0032] The vaccine request message includes a vaccine field that statesversion information of the virus vaccine program in the mobile terminal,a virus information field that states identity of virus and a capabilityfield that includes, for example, a band, mode information and operatingsystem (OS) information of the mobile terminal.

[0033] The VMU 132 chooses suitable one of the virus vaccine programsthat are stored in the DB 131 according to the virus information fieldand the capability field in the vaccine request message. Then, the VMU132 transmits the selected virus vaccine program to the mobile terminaland updates the virus vaccine program in the mobile terminal.

[0034] Also, when the mobile terminal detects or finds the virus byitself but can not inactivate or cure the virus by the virus vaccineprogram stored therein, the mobile terminal can send the vaccine requestmessage to the VMU 132 to receive or update the virus vaccine program bythe way of FIG. 3.

[0035] Meanwhile, there are two methods of updating virus vaccineprogram stored in the mobile terminal: a network-initiated method; and auser-initiated method.

[0036]FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a network-initiated update methodfor updating a virus vaccine program stored in the mobile terminal inaccordance with the present invention.

[0037] The network-initiated update method is executed by a serviceprovider when a new version of the vaccine program is available or a newvirus appears.

[0038] When the vaccine program in the DB 131 is updated at step S401,the VMU 132 sends a vaccine information request message to the mobileterminals 111 to 114 at step S402. In response to the vaccineinformation request message, the mobile terminals 111 to 114 sendvaccine information response messages including the vaccine programinformation and the capability information to the VMU 132 at step S403.

[0039] At step S404, the VMU 132 chooses suitable one the virus vaccineprograms that are stored in the DB 131 according to the vaccine programinformation and the capability information of the mobile terminal. Then,the VMU 132 sends the selected virus vaccine program to the mobileterminal, thereby updating the virus vaccine program in the mobileterminal.

[0040]FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a user-initiated update method forupdating virus vaccine program stored in the mobile in accordance withthe present invention.

[0041] A user requests updating of the vaccine program at step S501, themobile terminals 111 to 114 send a vaccine update request messageincluding the vaccine program information and the capability informationto the VMU 132 at step S502.

[0042] At step S503, the VMU 132 chooses a corresponding vaccine programfrom the DB 131 according to the capability of the mobile terminal.Then, the VMU 132 sends the selected virus vaccine program to the mobileterminal, thereby updating the virus vaccine program in the mobileterminal. The vaccine program update is executed over the air.

[0043] As described herein before, the mobile communication system ofthe present invention has the following advantages. Since the data basestoring various vaccine programs and the virus monitoring unit areassociated with the system level component such as a mobile switchingcenter, virus infection of data transmitted is detected in real time,and a vaccine program suitable for detected virus is provided to themobile terminal, whereby the mobile communication network and the mobileterminals therewith can be protected from mobile communication viruses.

[0044] Also, since virus vaccine programs are timely updated over theair (OTA) whenever a new version of vaccine program is available, it isconvenient to users, and both the mobile communication system and themobile terminal are safe from viruses as well.

[0045] While the present invention has been shown and described withrespect to the particular embodiments, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedin the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile communication system for inactivating avirus, comprising: a database associated with the mobile communicationsystem, for storing at least one virus vaccine program; and a virusmonitoring unit associated with the mobile communication system, forchecking virus infection of received data, analyzing virus information,choosing one of virus vaccine programs that are stored in the databaseand inactivating the virus.
 2. The system as recited in claim 1, whereinthe virus monitoring unit notifies of virus infection to a mobileterminal communicating with the mobile communication system.
 3. Thesystem as recited in claim 2, wherein the mobile terminal sends avaccine request message to the mobile communication system for updatingvirus vaccine program when the mobile terminal cannot inactivate thevirus.
 4. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the vaccine requestmessage includes vaccine program information and capability informationof the mobile terminal.
 5. A method for inactivating viruses in a mobilecommunication system, comprising: (a) at a virus monitoring unit,detecting virus infection of data received from a mobile terminal; (b)at the virus monitoring unit, analyzing virus information when data arevirus infected; and (c) at the virus monitoring unit, choosing suitableone of virus vaccine programs that are stored in a database according tothe virus information to inactivate the virus.
 6. The method as recitedin claim 5, further comprising, at the virus monitoring unit, notifyingof virus infection to the mobile terminal.
 7. A mobile terminal,comprising: receiving a virus infection notification from a virusmonitoring unit and detecting a virus infection of the mobile terminalto inactivate viruses by using a virus vaccine program stored therein;and transmitting a vaccine request message to the virus monitoring unitto receive a virus vaccine program suitable for the detected virus tothereby inactivate the virus by using the received virus vaccine programwhen the virus vaccine program previously stored in the mobile terminalcan not inactivate the virus.
 8. The mobile terminal as recited in claim7, wherein the vaccine request message includes vaccine programinformation and capability information of the mobile terminal.
 9. Amethod for inactivating viruses in a mobile communication system,comprising: (a) at a mobile terminal, detecting a virus infection ofdata before transmitting data and inactivating the virus using a vaccineprogram stored in the mobile terminal when the virus is detected; (b) atthe mobile terminal, sending a vaccine request message to a virusmonitoring unit when the vaccine program stored in the mobile terminalcannot inactivate the virus; and (c) at the mobile terminal, receiving anew vaccine program which is transmitted from the virus monitoring unitin response to the vaccine request message.
 10. The method as recited inclaim 9, wherein the vaccine request message includes vaccine programinformation, virus information and capability information of the mobileterminal.
 11. A method for updating a virus vaccine program in a mobilecommunication system, comprising: (a) at a mobile terminal, receiving avaccine information request message from a virus monitoring unit; (b) atthe mobile terminal, sending a vaccine information response messageincluding vaccine program information and capability information of themobile terminal to a virus monitoring unit in response to the vaccineinformation request message; and (c) at the mobile terminal, receiving avaccine program chosen according to the vaccine program information andthe capability information of the mobile terminal.
 12. A method forupdating a virus vaccine program in a mobile communication system,comprising: (a) at a virus monitoring unit, sending a vaccineinformation request message to a mobile terminal; (b) at the virusmonitoring unit, receiving a vaccine information response messageincluding vaccine program information and capability information of themobile terminal; and (c) at the virus monitoring unit, sending a vaccineprogram chosen according to the vaccine program information and thecapability information of the mobile terminal to the mobile terminal.13. A method for updating a virus vaccine program in a mobilecommunication system, comprising: (a) at a mobile terminal, sending avaccine update request message including vaccine program information andcapability information of the mobile terminal to a virus monitoringunit; and (b) at the mobile terminal, receiving a vaccine program chosenaccording to the vaccine program information and the capabilityinformation of the mobile terminal from the virus monitoring unit.
 14. Amethod for updating a virus vaccine program in a mobile communicationsystem, comprising: (a) at a virus monitoring unit, receiving a vaccineupdate request message including vaccine program information andcapability information of the mobile terminal from the mobile terminal;and (b) at the virus monitoring unit, sending a vaccine program chosenaccording to the vaccine program information and the capabilityinformation of the mobile terminal to the mobile terminal.